David’s Bridal, America’s largest wedding dress chain, is expected to file for bankruptcy as early as next week, Bloomberg News reports.
The wedding retailer is reportedly close to an agreement with creditors that would keep its stores open. The deal would include restructuring the company and passing ownership to Oaktree Capital Group, a Los Angeles-based investment firm that specializes in troubled companies, the news source reported.
Questions about the company’s financial health have been swirling since mid-October when David’s Bridal missed a debt payment.
David’s Bridal, headquartered in Conshohocken, Penn., operates more than 300 stores across the country as well as in Canada and the UK. Bloomberg News reports that the company doesn’t expect major store closures or liquidations.
“Our financial outlook is strong and we have ample liquidity to meet our key business objectives today and in the future,” the company said in a statement emailed to Bloomberg. “We do not expect this process to materially impact our business or interfere with day-to-day operations or our relationships with customers and vendors.”
If things go as planned, the move would avoid widespread panic among brides across America. Last year, David’s Bridal competitor Alfredo Angelo filed for bankruptcy and suddenly closed at least 10 stores nationwide, leading to brides-to-be to panic about whether they’d receive the dresses they’d purchased.
Marriage rates have fallen over the past 50 years, however, the average cost of a wedding has steadily grown to $35,329 in 2016.